Sander Geysen | Account Manager, Precision AQ | November 2025
Our latest Maturometer findings reveal a clear divide in omnichannel maturity across pharma. Some organisations are advancing rapidly, supported by richer customer data and insights, while others are still building the foundations and struggling to keep pace. Yet even the most mature teams face common challenges around demonstrating ROI and accessing high-quality insights. Continuous competitive benchmarking offers a proven way to overcome both, helping pharma teams deliver customer experiences that align with what HCPs truly value and close the gap between leaders and laggards.
Pharma companies are under increasing pressure to engage healthcare professionals (HCPs) in ways that are both effective and efficient. But at the same time a clear disconnect persists in how pharma and HCPs value different channels.
When asked how much they believe different channels influence HCP prescribing behaviour, pharma professionals’ views often diverge significantly from HCPs’ own perspectives. Pharma tends to overestimate the impact of in-person interactions and undervalue digital channels. In reality, HCPs often report digital as far more influential than pharma expects. The only consistent point of agreement is that channels with a clear educational purpose are seen as valuable by both groups. This misalignment isn’t just a perception gap – it’s a missed opportunity to align omnichannel strategies with real-world impact.
This gap underscores the urgent need for deeper, data-driven customer understanding. But not all organisations are equally prepared to act on this need. Our Maturometer findings show that while some are building strong capabilities, others are still struggling with the basics. The result is an industry evolving at two speeds. Based on how respondents rated their satisfaction with current omnichannel activities, we defined two groups: “leaders,” who are setting the benchmark for maturity, and “laggards,” who are struggling to keep pace.
The visual below highlights stark differences in foundational capabilities and customer insights, making clear where the gaps lie, and neatly indicates how laggards risk falling further behind as the industry accelerates.
Leaders are pulling ahead in capabilities like channel mix, content, customer experience, journey design, and staff knowledge. A key differentiator? Access to high-quality customer insights. Leaders have them; laggards are still working to get the basics in place.
Even leaders, however, face shared challenges. Internal bottlenecks such as MLR processes continue to slow content creation and execution across the industry and remain difficult to address externally. But beyond these structural hurdles, two barriers stand out where targeted support can make a real difference:
One proven way to tackle both is continuous benchmarking against direct competitors. This gives organisations not only a measure of relative performance over time but also actionable insights to design the customer experiences HCPs actually expect.
Despite the advantages, our Maturometer shows that many organisations still lack an effective benchmarking approach. Only 8% have one in place, and 20% are piloting — leaving most without a workable method. Yet those already benchmarking report high satisfaction, giving them a significant head start.
The divide between leaders and laggards makes one thing clear: assumptions alone won’t drive omnichannel success. While leaders enjoy stronger capabilities, both groups face the same critical barriers – better ROI measurement and richer insights. Competitive benchmarking addresses both, but adoption remains limited.
Regular benchmarking with Navigator365™ Cx Benchmark bridges this gap, delivering continuous, competitor-based insights that reveal how to optimise channels, content and customer experience. By aligning strategies with what HCPs truly value, teams can not only catch up – but even set new standards – in an industry moving at two speeds.
Get more insights into pharma’s digital-transformation trends by downloading your free copy of the full 2025 Maturometer report.
Hear these and other industry insights explored during our recent webinar – watch now on-demand.
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